By Geoff Percival,Stephen Aherne

Copyright ittn

Finnair has launched the Finnair for Business SAF service for corporate customers keen to help reduce aviation emissions and boost the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Available to members of the Finnair for Business programme, the new SAF service allows companies to monitor the flight emissions that their business trips generate. They can then buy SAF environmental attributes – the quantified benefits of using sustainable aviation fuel rather than conventional jet fuel – to help lower the carbon footprint of flying.

Using a book-and-claim model, companies can make an associated claim to the environmental benefit their purchased attributes represent. This means the actual emission reduction does not necessarily take place on the flight their employees travel on, as the fuel they purchase is not physically loaded into the aircraft.

The achieved reduction in greenhouse gas emissions related to sustainable aviation fuel use is verified by a third party, with the company receiving an audited SAF certificate that can be used for its sustainability reporting.

“We want to develop flying in a more sustainable direction and are now taking steps on several different fronts. We believe that the most effective solutions can be found at the system level and require cooperation not only between decision-makers and energy producers, but also between airlines and customers. With the Finnair for Business SAF service, we want to accelerate the adoption of alternative aviation fuel made from renewable raw materials,” said Tuomo Karppinen, Finnair’s Head of Environment.

In 2024, approximately 0.5% of the aviation fuel procured by Finnair was SAF, with the airline aiming to triple that number this year. For example, Finnair collaborates with Neste to accelerate the adoption of SAF. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ is made from 100% renewable raw materials, such as used cooking oil and animal fat waste, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% over the entire life cycle of the fuel compared to fossil kerosene. “The greenhouse gas emissions reduction in sustainable aviation fuel is significant,” said Mr Karppinen. “However, the aviation fuel we use will not be fully renewable for a long time, since SAF is blended with fossil fuels. But the more we use renewable fuel, the greater the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions we will achieve.”

Finnair is committed to increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel and supporting the transition towards more sustainable air traffic, with the Finnair for Business SAF service part of this strategy. So far, eight Finnair cargo and corporate customers have chosen to support the use of SAF.

Finnair has also made it possible for consumers to participate in the purchase of SAF. This service has been available for almost a year, with around 31,000 customers contributing a small amount to promoting the use of SAF when booking their tickets.

In August this year, it was announced that Finnair had partnered with Finnish tech company Liquid Sun to launch an eSAF production demonstration. Last year, more than 99% of the aviation fuel produced globally was fossil kerosene.